– Following the stock market crash on "Black Monday," August 5th, the World Gold Council (WGC) decided to examine the behaviour of various asset classes and explain why bitcoin should not be considered "the new gold."

First, the WGC highlighted volatility. For instance, the weekly volatility of physical gold in 2024 was 13.83%, while for bitcoin, it was 53.62%. "Gold and bitcoin are at opposite ends of the volatility spectrum," WGC analysts write, emphasising that gold has always played the role of a safe-haven asset on a global level. As for bitcoin, it is more of an indicator of how widely blockchain technology is used, so its behaviour resembles that of tech company stocks.

As an example, WGC experts suggest considering the correlation with the S&P 500 index in 2022. Based on this, they conclude that the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict "underscored gold's role as a safe-haven asset protecting investors from risks," which differentiates it from the leading cryptocurrency.

Furthermore, the WGC modelled the impact of adding these assets to an investment portfolio in a range of 2.5% to 10%. The Council concluded that gold reduces volatility and improves returns, even when its share in the portfolio is increased. However, the situation with bitcoin is different: the higher its share, the greater the risk of losses.

– According to data from the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, the number of cryptocurrency holders grew by 6.4% in the first half of 2024, from 580 million people to the current 617 million. Meanwhile, the number of Ethereum holders increased by 9.7%, from 124 million to 136 million. Among holders of the first cryptocurrency, the growth was 5.9%: 314 million compared to 296 million at the end of December 2023.

According to Crypto.com analysts, the broader adoption of ETH followed the Dencun update in March. The hard fork resulted in some second-layer ETH blockchain protocols reducing transaction fees by 99%.

Key factors for bitcoin included the April halving, the launch of the Runes protocol, and the approval of spot BTC ETFs, which attracted over $14 billion in institutional investment.

– Considering the current consolidation, crypto market participants are focusing on how bitcoin will trade in the short to medium term. Given that the leading cryptocurrency ended July in the red, it cannot be ruled out that August will also close with losses. According to PricePredictions' Artificial Intelligence, on August 31st, the coin will trade at $53,766, and in the last decade of September, it will approach $48,000.

– The analyst known as Crypto Banter disagrees with AI. He pointed out that the Stochastic RSI momentum indicator is entering the investment zone, signalling the possibility of adding BTC to investors' portfolios. Crypto Banter also highlights bitcoin's Fear and Greed Index levels as important indicators for identifying potential market bottoms and profitable entry points. In his observations, current conditions suggest that now is an optimal time to open long positions on BTC, which is fluctuating within key support and resistance levels of $56,000 and $62,000, respectively.

– In China, cryptocurrency trading and mining are banned by law. However, according to the CEO of the analytics platform CryptoQuant, Ki Young Ju, miners from China account for 54% of global cryptocurrency mining. Additionally, according to a TechFlow survey, for 25% of respondents, crypto trading is the most important source of income and the main occupation in life.

49.14% of Chinese people consider themselves experienced experts in the digital market, while the remaining 50.86% regard themselves as beginners. More than half of the respondents admitted to experiencing a significant level of anxiety when dealing with cryptocurrencies. At least 60% admitted to being superstitious, and 40% reported praying to the "god of prosperity" before engaging in market transactions.

70% of respondents prefer to trade on the cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and OKX. In addition to bitcoin, respondents named Ethereum, Solana, BNB, and the meme coin PEPE as the most profitable assets.

– The personal account of MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor holds bitcoins worth $1 billion. He revealed this figure himself in a recent interview with Bloomberg. However, four years ago, it was known that the businessman owned more than 17,000 coins.

Saylor is known for his commitment to bitcoin. And this is well-founded—over the past four years, MicroStrategy has invested about $8.4 billion in this asset, bringing its reserve to 226,500 coins, which has yielded a profit of more than $5 billion. As a result, the company's shares have risen in value by 995%. During the same period, the leading cryptocurrency has appreciated by approximately 500%.

– The Ripple (XRP) token is displaying a bullish signal, pleasing the bulls of this altcoin. Technical indicators point to an inverted "Head and Shoulders" pattern on the daily chart of the altcoin, with the second shoulder almost ready to form.

Since the court ruling in the case between the SEC (the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and Ripple, the XRP token has been correlating with major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Leaning on the $0.55 support, it has been trading in a narrow sideways trend along with the aforementioned assets since the 50% decline that followed the court ruling. As a result, Ripple has recently begun to form the base of the second shoulder in the bullish pattern with a potential risk-to-reward ratio of 1:2.

– The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Treasury-controlled Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have proposed amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act, equating the "rights and obligations" of the dollar and cryptocurrencies. After revising the definition of "money" in this Act, federal supervisory authorities will be able to impose new reporting requirements on financial institutions to track all domestic and cross-border cryptocurrency transactions. The amendments, if approved by Congress, are scheduled to take effect in September 2025.

– The author of the bestseller "Rich Dad Poor Dad," financier Robert Kiyosaki, believes that people are wrong to turn to the U.S. Federal Reserve for support, as this institution consists of highly educated but poor employees. "The Fed cannot save you," the entrepreneur declares. "It's time to save yourself. Buy more gold, silver, bitcoin, and stop listening to highly educated poor people."

Kiyosaki predicts that in the face of the upcoming market downturn, the prices of precious metals will rise several times over. And bitcoin, in his opinion, may become the most effective protection against "theft of savings by authorities and bankers." Recall that he previously stated that key technical indicators point to a stock market crash, and against this backdrop, the price of "digital gold" could easily reach $10 million per BTC.

– Michael Van De Poppe, CEO of MN Trading, is convinced that bitcoin will reach a new peak this autumn. The main driver for its growth will be institutional investors, who actively bought the coin when its price dropped. The analyst also believes that the recent correction could trigger a strong rally in September or October of this year, as long as bitcoin itself stays above the $57,000 mark.

Approximately the same timeline for the start of the bull rally was predicted by the analyst known as Rekt Capital. He suggested that about 160 days after the halving, bitcoin will enter a parabolic phase. According to his calculations, this should happen at the end of September 2024.

– Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, is also optimistic. He believes that bitcoin will approach its all-time high immediately after the U.S. presidential election: "A typical seasonal pattern is observed where the first cryptocurrency usually struggles between one and three months after the halving," he writes. "Thanks to the influx of liquidity, bitcoin should soon show growth."

The analyst pointed to the weakening of the forced sales factor and predicts that bitcoin will follow gold. According to VanEck's top executive, in 2025, financial markets will be influenced by a monetary policy easing, and because of this, BTC will surpass its all-time high.

According to Matthew Sigel, regardless of who becomes the next U.S. president, the market should be prepared for four years of reckless fiscal policy, and it is during this period that the first cryptocurrency will reach its peak values.

Let us remind you that the digital asset management company VanEck recently released a new forecast for bitcoin. It envisages three possible BTC price levels depending on the development of the market and the adoption of bitcoin as a reserve asset worldwide. According to the base scenario, by 2050, the flagship cryptocurrency could reach $3 million per coin. In the bearish scenario, the minimum BTC price will be $130,314. If the VanEck bullish scenario comes true, in 26 years, 1 bitcoin will be worth $52.4 million.